Hiring The Right Real Estate Agent For Your Home

You’ve decided that the time is right to buy (or sell) home and the collective wisdom of your friends and colleagues urge you to work with a professional real estate agent. Many first-time customers are starting their very own family; which folks realize that purchasing a home is a huge part of this. When you’re a first time customer, you may want to consider working with a real estate agent like Tier 1 Real Estate. A small real estate brokerage in Bristol Connecticut.

There are many buyers that think that they don’t require extensive aid because this is not their first time they have bought a house. The following are tips on how to hire the right real estate agent for your home:

5 Tips To Hiring The Right Real Estate Agent

1. One thing you can look for is the Realtor designation. If your agent states that he or she is a Realtor, that means that person belongs to the National Association of Realtors, an agency devoted to ensuring a level of consistency among its members and also that every member agrees to abide by a code of ethics. You will also know that your agent has met all of the state licensing requirements.

2. Additional letters on the agent’s title mean that person has taken on some additional education and is certified to be a specialist in their chosen field. For instance, ABR means that your agent is an Accredited Buyer Representative, meaning that this person has additional training and is also experienced negotiating deals representing buyers. Then there is ALC or Accredited Land Consultant. These agents are experts in helping find you the perfect land to build your home on.

3. How attentive is your agent? Does your agent expect you to conform to his or her schedule, or are you valued enough that the agent will work around your schedule? Is your agent willing to include you in a conversation, or does he or she do what is on his or her agenda only? Check out these questions you should always ask before hiring your realtor.

4. Does your agent communicate well and regularly? This can also mean does your agent answer your questions personally or are you handed off to someone else? Is the agent willing to communicate with you in the way that you prefer, i.e. email, phone call, or other? Communication can also include making sure you are fully aware of all fees and potentially other costs so you have no surprises.

5. Does your agent have good references from truly happy past clients, and not just a select few or people who are the agent’s friends? Those references should be able to speak to the aspects of the agent that can’t be gleaned from a resume. Did the agent find houses to show that was in the right price range and had the features the buyers wanted? Were homes that he or she showed priced right based on the market? You can also do a peer survey to see what other agents think of a particular agent. And, don’t be afraid to ask what the buyer reference wished his or her agent might have done differently.

Perhaps more than anything else, trust your gut. If you just can’t get along with a person, it will never be a good fit, no matter how successful your agent might be.